MAKING 
HIGH SCHOOL 
LIFE COUNT 

W. R. BOOKMAN 



YMCA 



Y 



MAKING HIGH SCHOOL 
LIFE COUNT 



Wi^^;^ BOOKMAN, 

V 

Boys' Work Secretary, West Side Department, 
Young Men's Christian Association of Chicago 




ASSOCIATION PRESS 

New York: 347 Madison Avenue 
1920 



<-< 



Copyright, 1920, by 

The International Committee of 

Young Men's Christian Associations 



FEB -d iy^u 

CI.A561741 






^ 



-o 



To 
That Small But Powerful Group 
OF Wausau High School Boys Who 
For Three Years Went in "Quest 

of the Best" 



CONTENTS 

The Demand 1 

1. Living Together in the School 4 

2. Democracy in the School 8 

3. Needs of the School 12 

4. Obstacles to Overcome in the School 16 

5. Enemies of Progress in the School 20 

6. Defenders of the School 24 

7. Making School Spirit Effective 28 

8. Social Forces in the School Z2 

9. The Play Life of the School 38 

10. Social Agencies in the School 43 

11. T'he Inner Control of School Life 48 

12. The New Age in High School Life 55 



THE DEMAND 

We live in an age when the world has become a 
neighborhood, and democracy hastens the day of 
human brotherhood. In a neighborhood, men must 
work, play, and live together; and the business of 
living together becomes of paramount interest. 

High school life furnishes many teen-age boys with 
some of their first lessons in this business of living 
together. This is true because of an inborn desire on 
the part of high school boys to associate with one 
another for the accomplishment of a common purpose, 
through clubs, social activities, organizations, and 
athletics. This fact furnishes the basic elements in 
the school community life and many splendid lessons 
in community living may be learned from it by high 
school boys. 

There is a real need of closer cooperation between 
school and actual life, and a need of reproducing 
real community life within the school. The 
pupils must learn that harsh and unyielding demands 
for one's rights are impossible in the school com- 
munity. As Allen Hoben, in his book, 'The Church 
School of Citizenship," says, "The fragrance of the 
American ideal is not that of a single flower, but 
rather the successful blend of many." 

1 



But many will rightfully inquire what the incentives 
are in this larger community living. The force and 
value of community incentives in the lives of the 
members are apparent in the life of a high school 
athlete when he "makes the team.'' He feels the ex- 
pectation and judgment of his classmates as he dons 
the school uniform. If the opposing team tries an 
*'end run" it is his business to block it. He cannot 
say "1 should worry," or trust to luck that his oppo- 
nent will fail. He must be on the spot and do his 
duty. If he fails in his duty, he reaps the censure of 
those watching the game and he knows the sting of 
being told that he shirked on the school football field. 
He dare not bring defeat to his team and lose his 
position. For this reason the demand upon him 
makes him obedient. This social pressure inspires 
him not only to giving his best, but also to prompt 
obedience to duty, up to the very point of exhaus- 
tion. What a splendid lesson for a high school boy. 

This course seeks to extend this lesson of social 
responsibility and adjustment and thereby to give 
high school boys a larger understanding of this 
social life in the school community. It will be of 
greater interest to those who know the responsi- 
bility of leadership in the school, but every high 
school pupil must become interested in these com- 
munity problems and needs, if he is to become an 

2 



efficient citizen in the larger community life. Every 
pupil in the school must develop that community 
sense which is the very foundation of a democracy. 



Problems to Discuss 

1. How can high school training make sure that 
citizens in twenty years' time, will have higher ideals 
of human life and social justice? 



2. Is there any assurance that the present gener- 
ation will materially solve the social and economic 
problems of today? 



3. Are high school pupils today more interested 
than any other group in making the world a better 
place to live in? 



LESSON I. 
LIVING TOGETHER IN THE SCHOOL 

It took the World War to frighten all classes and 
groups of people in England into the reaHzation that 
they were the heads and arms and legs of a common 
body, which could not defend itself effectively un- 
less it had the use and service of every member of 
its make-up. 

I. Why people live together. 

1. Warfare. 

a. Pressure from without forces men to 
defend their homes, property, and 
community. 

b. Sometimes it is aggressive warfare 
for colonies, commerce, or territory. 

2. Common possessions. 

a. Effect of fertile valleys of Egypt or 

China. 

b. Common interests or privileges. 

3. Commerce and trading. 

a. Modern cities where people live to- 
gether. 

A 



4. Common traditions and ideals. 

a. The Jewish race maintains unity under 
such difficulties. 

b. Wilson's expression. "Alaking the 
world safe for democracy," united our 
nation and also the Allies. 

5. Why do students live together in high 
school? 

II. Development of groups within the school. 

1. Gangs or cliques in the school. 

2. Values and difficulties of small groups. 

3. Enlarging the loyalty of the gang to serve 
the school. 

4. Small groups working for democracy if 
they are democratic. 

5. These groups are the result of the pupils' 
recognizing common interests, advantages, 
needs, and responsibilities. 

III. Limitations of living together. 

1. Friction and quarrels arise. 

2. Stronger members take advantage of the 
weaker. 

3. Each member must give up his independ- 
ence and conform to the group will. 

a. Rise of law and order. 

b. Members cannot do as they please. 

5 



IV. Responsibility of living together. 

1. Attitude toward foreign-born students in 
the school. 

a. Prejudice toward those different in 
race, class, or ability. 

b. Stranger and newcomer in the school. 

2. Attitude to the unfortunate student. 

3. Attitude to those in other social classes. 

4. To know and enjoy what the school offers 
is not enough. 

a. Attitude of appreciation. 

b. Spirit of volunteer service may be- 
come a spirit of philanthropy. 

c. Real need is for a sense of partner- 
ship. 

d. Students who do not contribute to the 
school welfare are slackers or grafters. 

Problems to Discuss 

1. How does military life recognize the import- 
ance of living together? * 



2. Is there equality of opportunity in your school 
community? Illustrate. 



3. Plan some piece of work for your classroom, 
and work out a system of financing the project 
through the pupils. 



4. Show how a slacker or grafter robs the com- 
munity. 



5. A recent book has been published entitled 
^'Christianizing Community Life." Would such a 
plan work in your school? How would you start to 
do such a thing? 



• .7 



LESSON II. 
DEMOCRACY IN THE SCHOOL 

Democracy is a way of living together where 
those in authority rule by consent of the governed. 

No one claims for a savage or semi-civilized peo- 
ple the right of political freedom, because it is con- 
ceded that for the purpose of successful self-govern- 
ment, a large degree of moral and spiritual develop- 
ment is necessary. In the normal home a boy is 
given freedom of action in proportion as he has 
proved himself capable of appreciating his duties, 
rights, and privileges. In a school community this 
same democratic spirit should prevail in the realm of 
developing self-control and self-direction by the 
student body. 

I. The need of government in any community. 

1. A busy city corner where a ''traffic cop" 
directs the movement of the people illus- 
trates the need of law and order. What 
would happen without traffic laws? 

2. Law and order make for justice and 
equality of opportunity where people live 
together. 

8 • 



3. Right community living rests upon high 
community habits developed in the char- 
acter-building and habit-forming period 
of youth. 

II. School government in the past. 

1. The school is a monarchy with the teacher 
in control. 

2. The result is that our common schools 
train pupils in subjection to a government 
in which they have little or no responsi- 
bility except to obey. It is a wholesale 
training away from democracy. 

3. There is an estrangement between pupil 
and teacher, and adults are considered 
outsiders by the student groups. 

4. The pupils often pit themselves against 
the teacher and act as outlaws in the 
community. 

III. Democracy in the school. 

1. The very foundation of democracy is 
weak if the school does not develop a 
large community responsibility in govern- 
ment and activities. 

2. Self-government applies the principle of 
"learning by doing" as well as textbook 
knowledge of democracy. Pupils must 

9 



share in its government to learn demo- 
cratic living. 

3. Self-government teaches the pupils to be 
a force for right in the school community. 
This will mean the same result in later 
life. 

4. Self-government does not have to be a 
negative rule to regulate conduct only. It 
can be a direct effort to work for the 
benefit of the school. 

IV. Value of self-government to the students. 

1. It gives practice in assuming responsi- 
bility, discriminating between good and 
bad, planning school projects. 

2. To be big enough to help has a valuable 
effect on the students. 

3. It develops a community feeling. 

4. It aids in discipline. 

Problems to Discuss 

1. Is it more difficult in a large school or a small 
one, to develop control of conduct by the pupils 
themselves? . 



10 



2. What are the obstacles to making self-govern- 
ment effective in a school? 



3. Does student organization weaken scholarship 
or strengthen it? Illustrate. 



4. What would you say to the statement that 
students need to respect authority rather than to ex- 
ercise it? 



5. What are the most democratic features in your 
school? The least democratic? 



6. Do girls have equal representation in your 
school based on merit and efficiency quite apart from 
any consideration of sex? 



11 



LESSON III. 

NEEDS OF THE SCHOOL 

The needs of any school depend on the aim of the 
school. The needs in a technical school are some- 
what different than those in one for physical training. 
Likewise the needs differ according to whether the 
aim is to develop "stars" on a team or to build up a 
group that can win by "team work." 

I. Aim of the school. 

L In the past it has been to impart knowl- 
edge, and develop skill, or to help students 
to make an easier and better living. Every 
boy was taught that education pays. 

2. Today the aim has become "social effi- 
ciency" — ^to make better players for the 
team, so to speak. 

3. What are the needs of the school in the 
light of this aim? 

II. Need of developing higher ideals and stan- 
dards for the school life. 

L Clean athletics, clean speech, clean schol- 
airship, and clean living. 
a. Value of the assuming of this respon- 
sibility by the students. 

12 



b. Lifting the personal ideals of the 
pupils and also that of the school. 

III. Need of a new emphasis in choosing life 
work. 

1. "Find Success Campaign" in Chicago. 

a. "F" "S" "C; mean Fame, Service, 
Cash. 

b. Success means centering life around 
service or usefulness. 

IV. Need of Defenders of the School. 

1. Others beside those on the athletic field. 

2. Those who will dare to stand for right, 
even before it is the popular thing in the 
school — defenders against wrong, injus- 
tice, evil. 

3. An ^organized effort of the Defenders of 
the School. 

V. Since the beginning of time man has 
struggled to satisfy his need. 

1. This constant struggle makes for progress. 

2. Some groups, such as poor people in the 
slums or common laborers, make little or 
no effort to satisfy any real needs above 
the primitive ones of hunger or cold. 

3. There are those in the school who are 
self-satisfied and who make no effort to 

13 



secure the fulfilment of the higher needs 
for themselves or others. 

VI. Paul's idea (Hebrews 12:1-3) : keep your eye 
on the goal, lay aside weights or hindrances, 
and press on. 

1. Joy and happiness come when needs are 
supplied, as by food, water, and clothes. 

2. There is equal joy when school needs are 
supplied. 

3. There is a supply for every need, but 
education is necessary to make the stud- 
ents' minds receptive. Then an organized 
effort must be started to secure the satis- 
faction of the needs. 



Problems to Discuss 

1. If the aim of the school were to develop sol- 
diers, what would be the essential needs? 



2. Why is it hard to get high school students to 
oppose evils in the school? 



14 



3. What are the costs in meeting the needs of the 
school? 



4. Is it wrong to make people dissatisfied with 
their present place in life? Why? 



5. How do selfish ambitions interfere with meet- 
ing the needs of the school? 



6. What are the results if the needs of the body, 
mind, or spirit are not supplied? 



15 



LESSON IV 

OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME IN 
THE SCHOOL 

Those who face the problems and needs of the 
school in an earnest effort to improve the school 
community will soon meet certain outstanding ob- 
stacles. Only as these obstacles are clearly under- 
stood and fearlessly faced can the school problems 
be solved. 

I. Ignorance of high school pupils in the form 
of prejudice or pre-judgment. 

1. Forming opinions with only a smattering 
of knowledge. 

2. Attitude toward foreigners, and those who 
may be inferior. 

3. Prejudice in the matter of prevailing so- 
cial and economic conditions. 

II. Self-interest. 

1. Self-interest carried to the point of ex- 
ploiting the school. 

2. School leadership for personal glory and 
honor. 

3. The element of selfishness in people. 

16 



III. Indifference. 

1. The "I should worry" student or ''slacker." 

2. Self-satisfied students. 

3. Difficulty of arousing the indifferent 
student. 

4. Lack of effort stops growth and develop- 
ment. 

IV. Waste in the school community. 

1. Students who waste their own time, 
money, and opportunities. 

2. Those who waste the time and effort of 
others. 

3. Seriousness of waste in natural resources 
and industry in this country. 

4. The spirit of conservation and efficiency 
in the business world. 

How to use spare moments to advantage. 

5. Seriousness of 'leaks" in the school life. 

V. Bad habits. 

1. They weaken the community as well as 
the lives of students. 

2. Universality of bad habits among high 
school students. 

VI. Fault-finding : A common obstacle. 

1. The student who is a grouch and a pessi- 
mist. 

17 



2. The "knocker" as a student In the school. 

3. The danger that "knocking" may become 
a habit. 

4. "Knocking" versus constructive criticism. 

VII. Quitters in the school. 

1. School is uphill and the tendency is to 

choose the easy way. 

2. Modern city life and wealth make high 
school pupils "soft," so that they dislike 
hard tasks. 

3. Need of perseverance in school boys. 

VIIL Special privilege. 

1. Danger of favoritism, special advantages, 
or any form of injustice. 

2. Danger in students or groups seeking spe- 
cial privileges. 

IX. All obstacles are covered by the word sin. 
Learn to recognize it in the school and over- 
come it. 



Problems to Discuss 

1. Show how all of these obstacles center in 
selfishness. 



18 



2, How much of a part should "self-interest' 
av in choosino- a vocation? 



play in choosing a vocation? 



3. Man is the product of his environment and his 
heredity. How much of a part do "effort" and "per- 
sonal will" play? 



4. What is the difference between knocking and 
constructive criticism? 



5. Does such a thing as sin exist in your school? 
In what form? 



6. How can these obstacles be overcome? 



19 



LESSON V 

ENEMIES OF PROGRESS IN 
THE SCHOOL 

Careful consideration of obstacles in the school 
cannot be given without an effort to discover why it 
is so difficult to overcome the obstacles in order to 
make progress. 

I. Class or group control of school activities 
stands in the way of progress. 

1. The "athletic" or "wealthy" group may 
get control and vise its power for selfish 
reasons. Even in a democratic community 
there is danger of class control of such 

institutions as the press, courts, or gov- 
ernment. 

2. A class intrenches itself when it has se- 
cured control, and new ideas are then con- 
sidered dangerous. 

II. Conservative individuals and forces hinder 
progress. - 

1. The members of this group prefer the 
old way, or they may be just self-satisfied. 

20 



2. They do not realize that the school is like 
a flowing stream and will move on with- 
out them. 

3. When they become intrenched in the life 
of a community they block progress, like 
a dam in a river, until the stream of life 
breaks forth in a revolution. 

III. A common phase of conservatism is found 
in the customs of the school. 

1. Ideas are inherited from the past, and 
transmitted to low^er classes. 

2. These become social habits which bind the 
school as habits bind and control a person. 

3. Those who oppose established ways in 
the school are considered undesirable citi- 
zens. 

4. Customs become self-enforcing through 
school spirit. 

5. They get the school in a rut. 

IV. Poor leadership hinders progress. 

1. The great mass are followers, and do 
little thinking. 

2. Self-interest makes autocratic leadership. 

3. Leaders may take profit and honor with- 
out doing their duty. 

21 



4. Some who would lead lack personal ideals 
and social vision. Poor leadership has 
lengthened the civil war in Russia, ruined 
many in business, and plunged the coun- 
try into chaos. 

V. Mental lethargy of various student groups. 

1. Those who withdraw their support from 
civic movements intended to better the 
school. 

2. Those who violate school regulations if 
they can. 

3. Those who do little thinking about the 
common good. 

4. Those who pretend they are worse than 
they are. 

5. "Not failure, but low aim, is crime." 



Problems to Discuss 

s 
u 
honor play? 



1. Does selfish gain furnish the initiative for 
pupils in your school? How much of a role does 



22 



2. The Hi-Y Club is an organization for un- 
selfish service in the school. Is there danger of its 
becoming profoundly interested in its own power 
and gain ? 



3. How would you proceed to change wrong cus- 
toms in your school? Poor leadership? Self-satis- 
fied students? 



4. Who are the pioneers in the school? Along 
what line are they pioneers? 



23 



LESSON VI 
DEFENDERS OF THE SCHOOL 

'God give us men ! The time demands 

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and willing 
hands ; 
Men whom the lust of office does not kill ; 
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy . . . 
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog 

In public duty and in private thinking." 

I. Leadership plays an im.portant part in the 
school life. 

1. What is needed in the school *'is not a 
leader, but many leaders." 

2. The stronger, more energetic, and more 
resourceful students become leaders. 

3. Many could be leaders who only lack 
incentive. 

II. Who are the leaders in the school? 

1. The students admire athletes, public 
speakers,, orators, class officers, popular 
students, exceptional pupils, or those who 
have especial qualifications for success. 

2. Leadership gravitates toward him who is 
ready. 

24 



3. Men follow men, rather than a cause. 

4. Some leaders have good ideas, but can- 
not carry them out. 

5. It is important for the leader to be one of 
the group. 

6. High school students follow the activity 
leader. 

7. A mental leader is of great value. 

8. The sympathetic leader is a vital factor 
in community life. Is this true in high 
school life? 

III. A leader is one who first, know^s the vvay ; 
second, goes ahead ; and third, gets others to 
follow. 

1. Knows the way. 

• a. Knowledge of a general and specific 
nature is first necessary. You can't 
lead in basket ball without general 
knowledge of games and people, and 
in addition you must have technical 
skill in that particular game, 

2. Goes ahead. 

a. This involves courage, love of adven- 
ture, judgment, self-confidence, tact, 
pep, initiative, resourcefulness, and en- 
thusiasm. 

25 



3. Gets others to follow. 

a. Most leaders fall down in getting a 
following. 

b. It takes S3'mpathy, patience, persever- 
ance, sincerity, system, impartiality, 
and optimism. 

c. Kindness is basic in leadership in a 
democracy, fear is basic in leadership 
in an autocracy. 

IV. The educated men fill the ranks of leadership. 

1. Training helps a man to rise from the 
common ranks, because he ''knows the 
way." A few, through sheer ability, at- 
tain leadership. The world is ready to^ 
beat a path to the abode of the expert. 

2. Everyone can be a leader in that one 
thing in which he excels his companions. 

3. He who can lead himself can lead others. 

4. A leader in high school will "carry on" 
when he gets out into the world. 



Problems to Discuss 

1. Write the names of ten leaders in your school 
and analyze just why each is a leader. 



26 



2. Are the leaders in your school responsible for 
the activities, or are the activities responsible for the 
leaders? Explain your view in detail. 



3. Why do some students shun responsibility? 



4. Is this statement made during the French Rev- 
olution true : ''I am their leader, therefore, I must 
follow them" ? Explain your view. 



n 



LESSON VII 
MAKING SCHOOL SPIRIT EFFECTIVE 

Tolstoy in his "War and Peace" pauses, after an 
account of Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Rus- 
sia, to inquire into the reason for the success of the 
Russian army. Napoleon's army had leadership, 
training, organization, and armament. Tolstoy con- 
cludes that success depends on these requisites of 
warfare, multiplied by an indeterminate X, which is 
the desire to fight. This unconquerable spirit in an 
army is esprit de corps or morale. 

I. Elements of school spirit. 

1. This unity of feeling is secured through 
sentiments, like patriotism, centering 
around school ideals and standards. 

2. School pride in athletics and scholarship 
is a large factor. 

3. Some students are ambitious for a ''rough 
neck" school. 

4. In some schools wrong is idealized by 
the pupils. 

5. Whether ideals and ambitions are good 
or bad, it is school spirit that enforces 
them in the school life. 

28 



II. Factors determining school spirit. 

1. Teachers, classroom teaching, and the 
leaders in the school build it up. 

2. In the last analysis the student body de- 
termines school spirit. 

3. What the student chooses to support 
counts more than what the teachers desire. 

4. School opinion develops school spirit. 

5. School opinion is developed by publicity, 
agitation, freedom of discussion, and cam- 
paigns. 

6. School opinion is focused by mass meet- 
ings, yells, clubs, papers, and teams, 

III. The power of school spirit. 

1. It may lift some students to places of 
honor and leadership by praise and ad- 
miration. 

2. It may crush some students by criticism, 
snubbing, or ridicule. 

IV. Developing school spirit. 

1. It is plastic as clay, and can be molded by 
a process of education. 

2. Public opinion should be educated and 
elevated. 

29 



3. Evils within the school cannot be stopped 
until a group of students rises up within 
the school and creates the right school 
spirit. 

4. School spirit can develop a program of 
betterment in the school, and start cru- 
sades to attain a higher goal of living. 

5. This type of school spirit needs support. 

6. School spirit should have a great purpose 
behind it. 



Problems to Discuss 

1. Give some illustrations of where a group, by 
praise or blame, registered the opinion of your school. 



2. Does the Hi-Y Club operate to develop restric- 
tive or constructive school spirit? Illustrate. 



30 



3. Point out the difficulties in developing school 
spirit of the right kind. 



4. In public life the community "looks down'* on 
anyone who is a crook or thief. Do students in your 
school ''look dow^n" on the dishonest pupil? 



31 



LESSON VIII 
SOCIAL FORCES IN THE SCHOOL 

Every wholesome high school student is anxious to 
invest his time and energy in such a way that others 
will be helped and the school made a better place. 
A clear understanding of influence, imitation, and 
suggestion will help those students who "know the 
way" and "are not afraid to go ahead," but need some 
help in "getting others to follow." 

I. Influence. 

1. There is a universal desire to influence 
others. 

a. Fear, flattery, and bribery are pos- 
sible methods of influencing others. 

b. Parents influence children ; teacher 
influences pupils ; pupils influence the 
school. 

c. The susceptibility of pupils has both 
encouraging and discouraging fea- 
tures. 

d- The weak mind takes shape easily, but 
does not keep it. 

32 



e. Many think they have made up their 
mind, when in fact it has just been 
made up by some masterful associate. 

II. Imitation. 

1. Imitation in the school. 

a. The character of the student body 
takes its "type" and "color" from the 
environment by imitation. 

b. Freshmen imitate Seniors, and even 
smoking in some schools is the result 
of imitation. 

c. Imitation makes for uniformity of 
conduct. 

d. Extremes are undesirable. 

2. Dangers of imitation. 

a. Students imitate extremes. 

b. Blind im.itation — doing as others do — 
results in tyranny of imitation, and 
dangerous temptations. 

c. There is anxiety, unrest, and dishon- 
esty in trying to keep up to the pace 
others set in dress, pleasures, and 
styles. 

d. Students of this kind live beyond their 
means. 

33 



e. Too many sink to the level of imita- 
tors and count for nothing, when they 
might contribute to the moral wealth 
of the school. 

f. There may be criminals in the school 
who actually do wrong, and others 
having knowledge of the wrong are 
moral cowards because they keep 
quiet. 

3. Responsibility of those who are imitated. 

a. There is a vast difference in the life 
of the school when there are right 
leaders. 

b. The student body is responsible for 
supporting clean, wholesome leader- 
ship. 

c. Careful thought and organization can 
modify, shape, or resist imitation. 

III. Suggestion. 

1. The role of suggestion in the school. 

a. The school is what it is because of 
suggestion. 

b. Suggestion is a powerful force, oper- 
ating constantly, unescapable. 

c. It is a force that can be directed and 
utilized. 

34 



d. It is the art of introducing ideas into 
another's mind. 

2. Argument as a form of suggestion. 

a. Practical, in that few students stop to 
think. 

b. Valuable in starting new schemes, 
customs, plans, or campaigns. 

c. Volume of suggestion important. 

3. Use of indirect suggestion where argu- 

ment often fails. 

a. Excite wonder and admiration; these 
paralyze criticism in another's mind. 

b. Snow suggests throwing, candy sug- 
gests eating, flowers suggest smelling. 

c. A single word may be like a switch 
which turns a train from its course. 

4. Value of suggestion. 

a. Results in good or in evil if it cap- 
tures the mind. 

b. Suggest ^'cutting classes" on a warm 
day, or going for a hike on Saturday, 
and action follows. 

c. Van Eden says "Parents can mold 
their children to be good or bad by 
suggestion." 

d. This can be done in the school, too. 

e. Flood the minds of pupils with good. 

35 



f. Eliminate the coarse vulgar, and nega- 
tive things. / 

5. Personal work as an application of sug- 
gestion. 

a. Growth of Christianity due to per- 
sonal work. 

b. Personal workers' groups in school. 

c. Few can resist tactful suggestions 
made eye to eye, and face to face. 

Problems to Discuss 

1. Explain in terms of school life this quotation, 
'Success is an orator, it charms multitudes." 



2. Give some illustrations from school life of 
cases where students had to lie or steal to keep pace 
with their fellow-students. 



36 



3. Show how the student body is just waiting for 
suggestions. Are the good suggestions accepted as 
readily as the bad ones? 



4. Can a teacher induce pupils to improve in their 
studies better by argument or a suggestion? Illus- 
trate. 



5. How much of a part does imitation play in 
education ? 



6. Is a boy influenced more by his pals than by 
his books? Why? 



Zl 



LESSON IX 

THE PLAY LIFE OF THE SCHOOL 

Work and living together in the high school com- 
munity cannot be studied without some considera- 
tion of how the pupils use their leisure" time. While 
the average student thinks of this subject in terms 
of a good time, there are certain moral and social 
by-products of vital importance to be considered. 

I. Forms of play life in the school. 

1. Amateur athletics in its many forms. 
Dangers of unsportsmanlike conduct of 
players, betting, and the desire to be 
merely a spectator. 

2. Entertainments, pageants, and amateur 
plays. Used only in a limited way today, 

3. Picnics, holiday trips, educational trips, 
outings. Used by science teachers to some 
extent. 

4. Class parties, dances, social center activi- 
ties. 

a. Danger of high school pupils going to 
an excess, and need of adult super- 
vision. 

3S 



b. Danger that the few who least need 
this social life will monopolize it 
rather than give all a chance. 

c. Commercialism of parties by a few 
students. 

5. Motion pictures, vaudeville, public and 
commercial amusement places. 
Consider only in so far as they affect 
school life. 

II. Moral values in play life. 

1. Occupies the leisure time of the pupils. 

2. Furnishes a safe discharge for surplus 
energy. 

3. This spontaneous life results in bad con- 
duct unless provided for. 

4. Gives pupils a desire to fight for a cause, 
puts effort in place of luck. 

5. Athletics teach obedience, for excuses will 
not go and a "bluff" does not make good. 

6. The character of students is revealed in 
play. 

7. Here a student learns self-control, cour- 
age, truthfulness, fair play, and duty, as 
well as develops his health. 

III. Play as a preparation for later life. 

1. Social justice is taught by the conflict of 
the game. 

39 



2. Interest in team games is at its height in 
the life of the pupil, for a little later he 
has less time for play. 

3. Cardinal virtues of united group action 
must become a habit. 

4. Character rather than scholarship should 
be the first fruits of the school. 

IV. Social by-products of play life. 

1. Assignment of positions on a team con- 
verts personal desires into a united group 
spirit and the individual must do his best 
for the common causd. 

2. The players learn that harmonious, united 
action is of more value than individual 
effort. 

3. Pupils deliver themselves heartily and 
wholly over to the game. This makes for 
community loyalty. 

4. They give their best to the team and 
school. 

5. Training in making decisions becomes a 
habit. 

6. The team focuses the loyalty of the play- 
ers, which holds them together through 
thick and thin. 

40 



V. Standards in the play life of the school. 

1. Clean standards are necessary to secure 
fair play. 

2. Good organization is necessary to interest 
all the school. 

3. Athletics may be the moral laboratory of 
the school. 

4. Athletics constitute the most appealing 
school memory, the most powerful guar- 
antee of social democracy in the school. 

Problems to Discuss 

1. In what forms is the play life of your school 
expressed? 



2. In what ways is the playground better than the 
schoolroom to teach morals? 



41 



3. What is meant by the expression "Prevent 
crime by furnishing a safe outlet for youthful 
spirits"? 



4. In what ways was the Duke of Wellington 
right, when he said, *The Battle of Waterloo was 
won on the cricket fields of Eton"? 



5. What is meant by the saying, "The playground 
is the cradle of democracy"? 



42 



LESSON X 
SOCIAL AGENCIES IN THE SCHOOL 

Students cannot be brought together day after 
day, without developing many social relationships 
and groupings. Some high school teachers suppress 
these normal activities in the school; others feel 
that they are a necessary evil, interfere with the pri- 
mary object of the school, and should be curtailed; 
while a third group see in these clubs an opportunity 
to minister to the welfare of the school 

I. A growing number of schools recognize school 
clubs and organizations. 

1. School life furnishes the opportunity of 
experiencing association with group life. 

2. They are the social cement of the school, 
for they develop the "we" feeling. 

3. The *'we" should include the teacher. 
II. Social agencies in the school. 

1. Those which express an enlarged interest 
in some study. 

a. Mathematics, Science, Nature Study, 
Craft, Camera, or Wireless Clubs. 

43 



b. Literary, Debating, and Drama Clubs 
and School Paper. 

c. Discuss the advantages and weakness 
of these clubs. 

2. Those which express special talent in the 
school : Band, Orchestra, and Glee Clubs. 
There is a civic value in thus rendering 
service to the school. 

3. Humanitarian activities during the war 
period. 

a. Liberty Loan, Red Cross, and War 
Work Drives ; Earn and Give Cam- 
paigns. 

b. These required volunteer service, as 
well as contributions to the funds 
raised. 

4. The Hi-Y Club of the Y.M.C.A. 

a. Its purpose to create, extend, and 
maintain high standards of Christian 
character. 

b. It promotes discussion groups and 
service activities in the school. 

III. These groups represent the life interest of 
the school. 

1. They are the hope of the school in get- 
ting the students back of the school. 

44 



2. They enlist a boy whole-heartedly. 

3. He is actually helping to run the school. 

4. He is getting first-hand experience in law 
and order. 

5. He must give active, willing participation 
in responsibility to the group. 

IV. Values in these social agencies in the school. 

1. They give vitality to the school. 

2. They furnish an opportunity for self-ex- 
pression! 

3. They connect school life with life in the 
world at large. 

4. Students are then happy at their work. 

5. Students then can plan and carry out 
projects of their own. 

V. Developing loyalty and a spirit of service. 

1. Furnishing an opportunity to serve the 
school. 

a. In their own way they should min- 
ister to the school. 

b. Pupils can make their contribution to 
the common good through organized 
clubs. 

2. Developing loyalty in the school. 

a. Create the feeling of "our" school by 
cooperative undertakings. 

45 



b. There is danger of serving the small 
group rather than the larger unit. 

c. Clubs and schoc^l activities can give 
high school life the charm that clings 
around the college. 



Problems to Discuss 

1. What would be the value of a campaign each 
year to secure every member in the school as a mem- 
ber of the club or organization of his choice? 



2. Show clearly how a club in high school may 
develop its members only or minister to the school 
at large. 



46 



3. Does a student become a friend of the school 
because of what it does for him, or because of what 
he does for the school? 



4. If everyone took as much interest in the school 
clubs as you do, would they be a success ? 



5. Show how some club in your school fails to 
develop school loyalty and serve the school. 



47 



LESSON XI 

THE INNER CONTROL OF 
SCHOOL LIFE 

Has Christianity any contribution to make in the 
school community? Or to put the question more 
correctly, can the school community get along with- 
out a religion which controls the innermost motives 
of character and conduct, any more than the com- 
munity at large? No community could get along 
without its churches and religious institutions, for a 
stable, harmonious social order cannot exist without 
a high character of individual and community ideals. 

I. The present situation of religion in the school. 

1. Students give little thought to the subject 
or oppose religious ideas, either openly 
or by indifference. 

2. State laws often prohibit the use of the 
Bible and religious teachings. 

3. The school leaves this task of religious 

training to the home and to the church. 
In other words, the school forgets that 
the whole boy comes to school, and seeks 
to train just part of the boy, his mind. 

48 



4. In recent years the school has been adding 
physical and social training. 

5. This weakness in the school training is 
now forcing moral and ethical lessons into 
the curriculum. 

6. There is a possibility of cooperation be- 
tween the school and religious institutions 
in the community, for the directly relig- 
ious emphasis in training youth. 

II. Relation of religion to the studies in this 
course. 

1. There must be a religious emphasis in 
each one, or there is a real weakness. 

2. Christianity is the "Jesus Way" of living 
together, and each one of these lessons is 
concerned with living together. 

3. Religion reveals the "Needs of the 
School," it determines the "Enemies of 

the School," and it inspires the "Defend- 
ers of the School." 

4. Furthermore, it furnishes the inner con- 
trol in the school life. That is, the school 
may promote a "No Copy, No Crib" 
Campaign, but in an examination the ulti- 
mate control to keep a student from 
cheating is an inner control. 

49 



5. This inner control bears directly upon the 
source of desires and wishes. 

6. Beliefs and ideals control these inner de- 
sires. 

ill. Weakness of moral teachings without re- 
ligion. 

1. A person may be moral, and yet selfish. 

2. The best moral teaching comes from the 
Christian religion, but all moral teach- 
ing is weak unless grounded in religion. 

3. There must be something more com- 
manding, more inspiring than morals to 
lift every citizen in the school from selfish 

. desires. 

4. It is true enough that such moral quali- 
ties as justice, loyalty, and honesty make 
for a normal social life in the school. 
But there is need of a great social ideal, 

. looking forward to the salvation of the 
school community. 

IV. Contribution of Christianity to the social 
ideal. 

1. The survival of any human group living 
together rests on the doctrine of love. 

2. Machinery of government even at its best, 
cannot guarantee students living together 
as is best for all. 

50 



3. Love of God and fellowman determines 
the success or failure of community living. 

4. It results in a spirit of unselfish service. 

5. It furnishes the unifying element in de- 
mocracy. 

The contribution of Christianity to the 
school. 

1. A common tradition in the ''Democracy 
of God." 

a. Long before democracy was spoken 
of so freely, the ideal of the King- 
dom of God existed. 

b. It is organized, and always has been, 
on the basis of the consent of the 
governed. 

c. It is an ideal for living together. 

2. A common Leader in Christ. 

a. A Leader, a living Spirit, who leads 
forward. 

b. He has led those who struggle against 
injustice, against ignorance, against 
selfishness. 

c. He has led those who seek beauty, 
truth, and sympathy. 

3. So it is that Christianity can unify the 
hope of the school. 

51 



4. It is for all those who are persuaded that 
there is a better way of living for the 
school, and for those who are determined 
to find that way. 

5. Religion furnishes confidence in the 
triumph of right in the school. 

a. Confidence in the triumph of right 
can never die, while the belief in God 
lives. 

VI. How to get the most from religion. 

1. Germany secured its great war machine 
through education. 

a. The schools, the churches, the gov- 
ernment, the home, every phase of 
German life taught, "Germany right 
or wrong/' 

b. If education, which has made Ger- 
many an autocracy, can succeed so 
well, it can do the same thing for 
Christian democracy. 

2. The highest type of conduct 4s secured 
through such education as will develop 
right habits and ideals. 



52 



Problems to Discuss 

1. If Christianity had no other value than an inner 
control of conduct, would it justify itself? 



2. How can religious ideals be made to dominate 
the school, where the state laws prohibit the use of 
the Bible? 



3. Is it possible for anyone to live at his best 
without fellowship with God? 



53 



4. What are the factors for the improvement of 
the school which are not due to Christian influence? 



5. What value has religion in the life of a stud- 
ent who wishes to serve humanity, and to make the 
world a better place in which to live? 



6. Is the ultimate task of the students complete 
until the life of the whole school is dominated by 
"the Jesus Way" of living? 



54 



LESSON XII 
THE NEW AGE IN HIGH SCHOOL LIFE 

High school life is so vast and complex, and the 
needs are so great, that the average pupil feels 
somewhat bewildered. It seems almost hopeless 
to think that one small life can make any impres- 
sion on the surge of the mighty life of the school. 
However, the thoughtful student inspired by high 
motives will find certain changes in school life, 
which are destined to make for better conditions 
in the school. Careful study will reveal these 
tendencies, and then a student should relate himself 
to these movements. 

I. Changing school life. 

1. The school is different from what it 
was yesterday. 

2. A student must know the direction of 
changes which are taking place. 

3. In some ways the school has improved, 
in some ways it has declined. 

4. What are the indications of change 
that we see in the school of today? 

55 



II. Growth of the school. 

1. The past has established the value of 
the school, tomorrow will be a time 
of growth. 



The 


following 


statistics 


show th 


grow 


th: 








SCHOOLS 


TEACHERS 


PUPILS 


1890. 


. . 2,526 


9,120 


202,963 


1895. 


. . 4,974 


15,700 


380,493 


1900. 


. . 6,005 


20,372 


519,251 


1905. 


. . 8,031 


30,844 


722,692 


1910. 


.. 10,234 


45,167 


984,677 


1915. 


.. 11,674 


62,519 


1,328,984 



3. Capacity and talent are universal, but 
education furnishes the opportunity. 

a. Universal education means some- 
thing more than admitting every- 
body to school. 

b. It means turning them back fitted 
for an industrial age. 

4. ''Who's Who in America" indicates the 
contribution of education to the leader- 
ship of the nation. 

a. Seventy-one per cent of the men 
named in ''Who's Who" are men 
who have gone to college, fifty-eight 
per cent graduates from college. 

56 



b. These figures are significant in view 

of the fact that only about one per 

cent of the population ever go to 

college. 

5. Possibilities of increased leadership 

with universal education. 

III. The school of yesterday was planned for the 

few. 

1. The pupil of exceptional ability received 
the training. Illustrate from high 
school athletics. Tomorrow the school 
will be planned for the common stu- 
dent. 

2. The high school will train pupils for 
life, rather than for college. This 
means industrial, home-making, and vo- 
cational training to prepare students 
for the shop, the ofnce, the home, and 
the farm. 

3. This is a change from book learning 
and theory to the practical methods of 
the laboratory and shop. 

IV. The high school of tomorrow is going to be 

concerned with character-building. 
1. Education without character is danger- 
ous. 

57 



2. Character is to the soul what muscle is 

to the body. 
3 Neither can be developed without action 

and practice. 

4. Moral and ethical training dodge the 
issue, or deal with it superficially. 

5. Training of the will is the most im- 
portant part of character-building. 

V. The New Age will be a humanitarian age. 

1. The spirit of service to others will be 
emphasized. This spirit was in the 
school during the War. In this the 
school reflects the spirit in the com- 
munity. 

2. The key to the changing life in the 
school is found in the changing com- 
munity. This makes the school con- 
servative. 

3. Education must be a process of looking 
forward, and falls short unless, in the 
last years of the training, the student 
is given enough liberal education to 
help him understand the forces of 
progress in the larger community. 

VI. The school is now a young giant passing 
through the years of adolescence. 

58 



1. The foundations have been well laid by 
the old education. 

2. The school of tomorrow will be meas- 
ured by the effect in the community as 
regards health, lawlessness, or public 
welfare. 

3. From the pupils' point of view, the 
high school will be a happy place and 
the whole process of change in the 
school will result in healthy, cheerful 
students. 

Problems to Discuss 

1, Is the great need in the school to help students 
to know what is right or to get them openly to 
ally themselves with right? 



2. Are there any harmful influences gaining 
ground in your school? What are they? 



59 



3. What changes for betterment can you see 
going on in your school? 



4. What part can students play in bringing about 
the New Age in high school life? 



60 



Campers will be interested in another book 
recently published by the same author, entitled, 
"Living Together As Boys." 

Order from 
Association Press. 



61 



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